Manufacture of coke.



A. MCD. DUCKHAM. MANUFACTURE 0F COKE.

Arfucfxrow .men mAvia,1s15.

luentml Dec. 2i, 1918 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

entren eramos retrasa MANUFACTURE 0F COKE. t

1o all fro/tom may concern.'

Be it known that l, ARTHUR MCUOUGALL DUCKHAM, a subject of the King' ot' Great Britain, residing in Ashstead, Surrey, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manularture ol Coke. 0f which the following is a specification.

`While by-product recovery ovens produce a satisfactory metallurgical eolie they are costly to maintain and are wasteful oi' heat, labor and time inasmuch as they are intermittent in operation: furtherniore they are not universally applicable as there are only certain coals which can be satisfactorily coked in them without admixure with-other coals.

`The problem ot continuous roking has been solved in the art ol making` coal gras by use of 4the now welblrnown 'vertical retorts, but the conditions for obtaining' the bestyield of ,gas are not those for makingr eolie most suitable" l'or inetallurgieal and other purposes.

It has beenfhought lhat the vertical re tort, viewed as a coke oven, would have the advantage that the weight of the column of?V coal undergoing earbonization would rompress the coke during); the final stage ot car` bonization in the lower part of the retort,

coke of greater density thus producing a This expectation than ordinary gas colte.

` has not leeen fulfilled.

The present invention is based on the observation that the successful production in vertical retorts of coke for n'letallurgieal aud other purposes is only to be vattained by a process of continuous cokingr in which nieehanical pressure is applied to the top'ot the charge accompanied by continuous removal ot' the coke from the bottom of the retort. The pressure must he continuously applied, that is tosay, the pressing device inust'follow the descending charge, being i lifted only for the very short period req uisite for .admission of fresh coal at the top of the retort.

I have satisied myself that the relaxation of pressure must be for the minimum possible period, and that it is the coal Vin the earlier stages of cooking, that is', in the cooler parts of the retort, t0 which the pressure should be applied, consequently my process difers widely from those in. which the pressure at any Zone in the retort depends upon the weight; of the superincumbent rhin-ge. not. merely because 4such pressure is not Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led May 19, i915. Serial No. a9,

Patented Dee 2d, 1918.

les. 1

variable and would not ordinarily.7 he sut'- licient for the purpose, but because, if the retort heated from below upward, the maximum pressure is applied to the hottest part of the charge instead of to the cooler parts.

lt is best that the coal should be in a finely subdivided condition. l The pressure applied to the coal should be capable ot' variation to suit different kinds of coal and the quality ot' Coke required. The order of magnitude of the pressure may be one ton per square foot, `but this statement; is in no way intended to limit, the invention.

The gases and vapors generated duringA the earbonization are preferably allowed to escape directly from the zones of the retort wherein they'are produced, the conditions being such that they carry away as little sensible heat as possible; the'arrangement may be suitable for collecting separately the gases and vapors from each zone, or those from all the Azones may be collected together. ln the accompanying; drawings isA shown a retort setting;1 of four retorts, suitable for the invention; Figure l is a vertical section on line l--l of Fig. 2. rllhe left hand half of Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section on line 2-2 of Fig. l, the right hand half' being a like section on line 2 9 of Fig'. l. hand halt ot Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. l and the righthand half is a like seetion on line 3-3 of Fig. l.'

The retorts a are ot' the usual rectangular cross section, the area of which increases downwardly. They are heated hy vertical The left lines 7i in known manner, the heating* gasesl passingv upward instead of downward. The combustible gases enter through fines c while secondary air enters at cl and passes around the lower part of the retort in known manner to cool the coke and to become itself preheated.

'lhe retort is charged to the level of the foot of the extension The lower part of the latter constitutes the charging chute or" Y ing the hbtort at a rate fixed bythe rate of discharge at the bottom of the retort. lIn this manner the charge in the retort is kept under constant. pressure. except for the very short periodsduring 'which .the ram is beingwitlidiawn and freshcharge is flowing into eXten'sion e. 'Ihehopper f is 'sealed by f t e continuous the rotary 4feed f atftheftop and by `the rim 9, so that the' retort isfl gas and .air-tight. ".l'O .j w fk at the lower end .of the'hretort isalready The general construct'lonofthe extension The curved .surface Z takes the the weight of the charge and removal of the coke is by means of an endless traveling band m made up of chain links-,s2 This articular form or' known.

reater part oi device for removing the c arge does not constitute a part of the present invention, 1t bein Iters'. Jan'uari'Z,1917.v

shown, described, and claimed in Letatent No. 1,2l1,301, granted to me on` The opper n into which the'coke falls i and from which it is periodically discharged 4a iue Thisue is provided with danipers.

'into practical'.t

l by turning the Water-sealed door o,

known.

'g to be. with est olf-take. 4

are well- The .openings p for the escape of volatile products are' situated at diiferentlevels in the side of the retort and lead vdirectly into v1. .A process retort, which'conprises the application of a mechanical pressure `uniform l y applied to the' upper surface of thevcoal while under carbonization at the cooler part of the retort, .which pressure sexerted constantly except for the very short period required for thel admission of fuel..

`2. A process of coking coal in a. vertical lretort, which comprises the application of av mechanicalv pressure uniformly apip' theupper surface of the coal whi e lied to under carbonization at the coolerpart of the retort,

which pressure isy constantly exertedexcept short period required for the for the very admission of fuel, c ornbn edwith continuous removal of coke `from the bottom of the retort so that the charge continuously travels under pressure through the retort.

3. A processvofcoking coal in a vertical retort which comprises feeding suitably finely subdivided coal between the surface of the charge in Ypressure by 'the the retort and a ram withdrawn for the purpose and then applying rain to this subdivided coal while under carbonization at the cooler part y of the retort so as to keep on the charge descending Ytially as described.

a constant pressure the retort, substan- 4, A process of coking coal in a vertical f retort having itshottest zone toward the bottom and a relatively top, whichcomprises coal to the relatively cooler zone toward the feeding finely divided cooler zone toward the to of the retort, removing coke' from the re atively hotter zone toward the bottom of the retort, and applying mechanical pressure uniformly tol the upper surface of the coal under carbonization in the retort, such pressure stantly except -In testimony whereof,

name to tlis specification in two subscribing witnesses.

ARTEUEMGD Witnesses:

JOSEPH MHLARD,

J. SKERTEN.

they cooler zone of being exerted confor the very short period required for the `admission of coal. I have signed my the presence of QUGALL mornin. 

